I'm not usually an angry person. Inside of me is a large, dense bubble of happiness and acceptance. Sure, I may be cynical and sarcastic and just downright mean but I'm never depressed. My hands never curl up into fists each day after school nor do I cry myself to sleep at night. Crying is for wusses.
But here I was, sitting as straight as a wooden plank on a chair in one of the many living rooms of the palace, surrounded by a team of XYZ's agents, my eyes not daring to blink, my knuckles the color of snow as I dug my fingers into my palms, and a quivering anger inside of me.
It seems as if the youngest prince of Cimeria is late for dinner.
Those tiny, electronic words, typed by fingers, Verdana font, size eight, black. They floated in front of my eyes, swimming back and forth underneath my lashes as if taunting me.
How? Just how did they find out about him? This was top secret, undeniably confidential--the kind of information that I would take to my grave, and guard it with my ghost so even after my death, no one would know.
I looked up, and my eyes flickered over to Logan, who stood conversing by the windows with another agent. Their lips moved in a frenzy, their eyes looked hectic and fearful as their conversation continued. My lips trembled.
Logan, whether he was psychic or not, looked over, almost as if he could sense my chaotic ticking bomb of emotions. Instantly, he excused himself from the discussion and came over to sit by me. His hand placed themselves on top of mine, his fingers lacing themselves with my own. I was shivering. Park Sparrow was shivering.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," attempted Logan, as he stroked my hair back from my face. His words were soft and low, meant for my ears only. "We're going to find him. They're tracing the call and the text. Jasper will be back in no time."
No, he won't.
"He's the prince; everybody knows that. Even the citizens of Cimeria are probably out looking for him."
No, they don't.
"Park?"
I looked up slowly. It was like I had turned into a rusty old robot, whose gears and gadgets no longer functioned correctly. Logan's eyes, normally filled with a look of disdain, hatred, annoyance, or a brilliant gleam of something I could never place, were now...worried. Never before had I seen Logan worried.
Something pricked at the corner of my eye. I blinked. A teardrop rolled quickly down my cheek before dropping off at the bottom of my chin. And as quick as the wind, he pulled me into an embrace, whispering soothing words into my ear as he ushered me not to cry.
"Agent Six has arrived, please stand!" a grave voice announced. Logan quickly dropped his arm so he could stand up. Everyone else did the same thing, dropping everything they were in the midst of doing to place their hands behind their back and bow as one of the most famous agents came walking through the white double doors behind me.
Agent Six was a tall, slender man with broad shoulders that would put a famous male model to shame. He had black hair that gleamed like the feathers of a raven, combed back into his head. He was actually young, ranging around the age of my older brother, who was only twenty.
I always hated Six. Not just because he always glared at me whenever I came to the agency to train, or how he seemed to degrade me with each and every sentence. It was because his eyes gave me this incredibly Hair-On-The-Back-Of-The-Neck tingles.
The left eye was a clear blue while the right iris was green. A mutation in his genes. Or, the way I would put it, the consequence of having no soul and no heart and being an emotionless jackass towards everybody. To everyone around me, it was cool and intriguing and mysterious. But to me, it was like he had two sides to him, and I didn't like that though.
He didn't spare me a glance as he walked to the middle of the room where I sat. He stood by the glass coffee table that was in front of me, his gaze directed to his team.
"As you all know, the youngest prince of Cimeria has been kidnapped," announced Six, his normally low voice seeming more grave than ever before. No one whimpered or fidgeted; everyone's attention was either on myself or Six.
"I have called this team here to help me catch the culprit and return the prince to his home. From here on forth, we are on Code: Zero."
Logan sucked in a quiet breath, his shoulders tensing visibly as the words "Code: Zero" fell from Six's mouth. Let me explain: Code: Zero was the code for a situation that required the entire XYZ to cooperate. All available agents would be dispatched to Cimeria to assist in the mission. For Six to call one....the last Code: Zero had been years ago.
"I have a team tracking down the whereabouts of the culprit with help from the queen's phone," Six informed. "Everyone, please get in gear and meet in the ballroom in thirty minutes."
Just as everybody began to stir again, Logan sat back down with me. "I'll stay with you."
"No, actually, you won't."
Logan froze, then snapped his head up to meet the icy glare of Six. Logan had never showed such a frightened face before. He was pale, the glow of his golden eyes seemed to disappear by the second.
"We need every agent possible if we are to retrieve young Master Sparrow," Six said. "That means you are to be dressed and in the ballroom in thirty minutes, Cross. Go."
"If Logan's going, then I am too," I stated, glaring into the green and blue circles that seemed to burn coldly with an emotion that I couldn't seem to place. No, his expression screamed, his lips pressed into a thin line before he turned away.
"Six, he's my brother," I snapped. "I have to go save him!"
"And you are the only heir to the throne. We cannot sacrifice you," Six practically drawled, using his "adult" tone with me; the tone that basically said, "I'm older than you, so shut up and just do what I say."
"I want to meet the guy who knows about my brother and--"
"Destroy him? Both you and Archer are so predictable," Six scoffed. "Is there no surprise in you? Oh, look, another reason not to bring you. The enemy can probably predict your next moves just by looking at you."
Anger flared through me. My mind wasn't even there as I dove towards Six, my arms outstretched as I prepared to give him a taste of "predictable." But suddenly, my arms were pulled back and I never got to give Six a black eye.
Looking up, I saw that it was Logan who had held me back, frustration and disappointment in his eyes as he glared at me. His mouth was moving but I couldn't hear anything around me, except for the blood rushing through my ears and the intense beating of my heart.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Six scorned, shaking his head back and forth as he chuckled at my reaction. "So impulsive." He met my eyes and smirked. Never before had I felt so a craze to strangle someone. Okay, maybe Pepper back at the academy.
"Cross, take her to her room. I'll send the royal guards up to keep her detained."
"Detained?" I snarled, my hands curling into fists. I kept fighting, but Logan's strong grip wouldn't break.
"Park, let's just go!' Logan begged quietly, tugging me backwards. "Six will get Jasper back; trust him."
"It was the queen's order to keep the princess in the castle," Six stated, turning away, causing Logan to pull even harder, desperate to get me out of the room. I struggled and wriggled but before I knew it, Logan had dragged me out of the room, and the doors in front of me were slammed shut.
I blinked, horror seeping in. Now what was I going to do? I was not going to sit in my bedroom, hoping that my little brother was safe. My mind clicked and whirred as I tried to figure out a plan to escape, to follow the agents. First, I had to leave the castle, but how? I couldn't sneak out of the--
"Park!" snapped Logan. My mind went blank, like a computer suddenly shut down to a virus. Slowly, I looked up at him, my eyes doe-eyed and glassy. He looked incredibly irritated. His eyes were narrow and sharp, no hint of joy in them. He was in Agent mode, meaning that he will be of no help whatsoever with my master plan.
"What is wrong with you?" he hissed. "Yelling at Six like that? Don't you know who he is?"
"Exactly why I don't like him," I snorted. My feet headed for the stairs. My Converse and his gray sneakers padded silently up the steps. I ran a finger through my hair, still slightly damp for Logan and mine's frolicking in the fountain earlier. Funny, isn't it? That in just moments someone's life could change?
"You just yelled at one of the most powerful agents in the system!" His voice suddenly rose. "You yelled at my mentor!"
Oh, well, wasn't that a surprise? I turned around. Logan was still several steps behind me, making me realize that he had stopped following me a while ago. "I can see where you get the attitude from, then."
"Who do you think you are? You're walking around, mouthing off to people you should respect," he snapped. I almost laughed at this. Crossing my arms and cocking my hips, I leered at him. Wow. He and I were fighting seriously for once.
"I'm the princess of Cimeria, that's who i think I am," I scoffed. "So yes, I'm going to yell at Six, because I can."
His eyes narrowed even more (even though it shouldn't have been possible). "Why are you like this? You never abuse your power. You're always respectful and smart."
"Because I don't want to sit at home and let people find my brother for me," I shot, everything inside of me exploding. "I want to find the person who took Jasper and destroy him!" Oh, wait, isn't that what Six predicted I would say?
"I want to know how he found out about Jasper!" I finished. The last part came out as a horrifying, dry sob and I sank to the floor, my legs becoming too weak to hold me up any longer. But while I clutched at my head, rocking back and forth like the crazy person I truly am, I remembered what I just revealed.
Oh, shit.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
Crap.
"Of course everybody knows about Jasper; he's the prince."
My only response was to open my mouth and impersonate a mime who in turn was impersonating a talking person. Despite how good I was at making up stories, I saw no way out of this one. Sometimes, I was such an idiot.
"Sparrow, why are you trying imitate a goldfish?" he sighed. "Are you under stress?"
"For your information, I'm supposed to be a mime." I stood up and smoothed my shorts then I snagged his wrist and pulled him all the way up to the fifth floor and to my room. He protested the entire way, reminding me that he had to go change and head to the ballroom. I pushed him into my room and slammed the door shut, turning the lock so that we wouldn't be interrupted.
Logan was leaning against a bedpost, looking irritated as hell as he watched me take my spot next to him. Thinking about how to explain Jasper to Logan was going to be harder than playing video games with Archer.
"Logan..."
That seemed to catch his attention. The intensity of his stare lessened and he seemed to grow worried after I continued my moment of silence.
"I'm going to tell you something. And you're going to have to swear on your life that the information will never leave your mouth unless it's with the royal family, the Cimerian Court, and selected members of XYZ. If you are to ever reveal this information, then you have committed high treason and you are susceptible to be tried by the Court."
It would've sounded much more...exquisite if I had actualy made those words up. No, that was actually the law decree for this secret.
"I swear," came his quiet voice. I turned to him, an unexpected fear seeping in. If I told him this, would he be in danger? The Court would keep a watchful eye on him, no longer passing him off as a bodyguard but as someone with the potential to destroy the kingdom.
"Sparrow?"
I reached for his hand. There was a part of me expecting him to pull away or move a bit further. But he stood there, looking down on me as I reached up to entwine my fingers with his. And as the seconds progressed, he squeezed my hand, giving me the reassurance I need.
"Jasper..." I began, my voice remarkbly soft and feeble. "No one knows Jasper is my little brother. The public doesn't know that we have a second prince of Cimeria."